Surviving the Oregon Trail
by Kimberly Moon
Summary: The 5th Year Hogwarts students are put into the PC game “The Oregon Trail” as a test for their Muggle Studies class. The task is simple: Survive and pass. The hard part will be surviving without using magic, but can they survive each other? Pre-HBP, HG/DM
1. Test Day

**Surviving the Oregon Trail**

Disclaimer: I am not making money for writing this story. It is purely for fun and entertainment. Anything affiliated with the "Harry Potter" series or "The Oregon Trail" does not belong to me.

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Chapter 1 – Test Day

"I hope everyone studied _extraordinary_ well for this exam," warned Professor Charity Burbage once class time had begun.

The 5th year students in her Muggle Studies class exchanged concerned glances. For the past 4 months they were learning the history of The United States of America – particularly from the mid 1800s. It was a time when Muggles and some well-hidden witches and wizards were headed West in search of a better life and, in most cases, gold.

The students weren't sure exactly why they were learning about North America in a class geared toward studying Muggles, or why it was so important, but Professor Burbage kept insisting that they study and learn a major part of American Muggle history. Many of the students suspected that their professor's ancestors were involved in the journey, and that's why she found it so "intriguing" and "essential" to the curriculum.

"In place of the usual written exam, I have put the class into four groups of six. Together, you will be taking a journey on what is called The Oregon Trail."

Professor Burbage paused dramatically to let her words sink in before continuing.

"The object is simple enough: Make it to your destination! Of course, all of you will be stripped of all magical powers in order to make this an educational and fulfilling experience."

As Professor Burbage shifted through a thick stack of papers in her hands, the classroom door opened and the professors Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, and Filius Flitwick entered.

"Oh! Right then! Class, these professors are graciously offering their time to assist me in monitoring the teams. We will be recording progress, looking over the teams' journals, and sometimes giving advice. Be assured that we are NOT going to hold your hand and be at your beckoned call," Professor Burbage warned.

"Remember, this journey is going to seem _very_ real – as it very well should! But should you be injured or deathly ill, you will probably feel some discomfort, but nothing too serious. If you make a poor decision or run into a terrible disaster and die, the professor monitoring your team will immediately remove you out of the game. The downfall to dying, of course, means that you have failed the test _if_ the death could have been prevented. Sometimes deaths can come out of nowhere, however, and in those cases I will decide your grade based on your performance and survival skills."

Professor Burbage passed the papers out to the students, and then asked the other professors to follow her to her office for their monitoring materials.

The moment the door closed, the classroom erupted in loud, excited chatter. Students were beyond anxious to find out who was on their team and what the experience would be like. Some students were so full of worry for not studying as hard as they should have, they immediately began memorizing their notes and scanning their text books.

After what seemed like hours, the professors filed back into the classroom looking just as anxious as the students to get started.

"Students, please quiet down while groups are assigned. Once your team and monitor have been named, please go to your monitor and wait for further instruction," Professor Burbage began as she unrolled a parchment. "Team One will be monitored by yours truly."

Professor Burbage rattled off names for her group and Flitwick's group before Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger all thought, "_Please don't let me be in Snape's group!_"

Harry turned and noticed Draco Malfoy and a few other Slytherins were still waiting for their teams.

"Professor Snape's team includes Draco Malfoy.."

"_Of course_," thought all the students who weren't in Slytherin.

"Ron Weasley.."

"Damn! Of all the bloody, rotten luck," muttered Ron, standing up.

"Neville Longbottom.."

"No! Why me?" Neville asked Hermione.

"Sorry, Neville. At least you've got Ron," Hermione commented.

"Pansy Parkinson.."

Ron couldn't help but groan in disgust.

"Vincent Crabbe..and Gregory Goyle."

"What?!" yelled Ron and Neville in unison.

"Hmmm..," Professor Burbage said while looking through her list. "Professor McGonagall? Would you be willing to make a trade to even out the Slytherins?"

"Of course, Charity. Hermione Granger can be switched with either Vincent or.." Professor McGonagall stopped short when she saw the horrified looks on the boys' faces. "Would you two like to stay together?"

Crabbe and Goyle nodded frantically but looked at Draco with concern. Draco and Pansy looked warily at one other when Professor McGonagall looked at them.

"Erm..If I may, Professor," Harry started, "Goyle can take my place if Crabbe is taking Hermione's so that they can be together."

"How thoughtful of you, Mr. Potter, but then that leaves Team Three with one too many Gryffindors..Unless Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall have no objections," Professor Burbage said.

Professor Snape opened his mouth to object, but Professor McGonagall cut him off.

"That's fine by me; I'll consider it a challenge. What do you say, Severus? Are you up to the task?"

Professor Snape paused for a moment before giving a curt nod and striding away to Team Three's designated area. Draco and Pansy weren't hiding the fact that they were pissed about loosing two fellow Slytherins as they glared at their Gryffindor teammates.

"Pull up a chair, students, and Professor Snape will explain anything I forgot to mention and answer any questions you may have. Good luck and make wise decisions!" said Professor Burbage with a smile as she headed off to talk to her group.

Each member grabbed a chair and made a half-hearted circle. Professor Snape looked them over in silence before speaking.

"First, the team needs to choose someone to be the leader. That person will keep track of everything from food to directions. I advise you to choose _wisely_, because it could determine the fate of your grades."

"Well, Professor Snape, I think it's completely evident that Draco should be this team's leader," Pansy suggested as she looked dreamily at Draco.

Professor Snape smirked in agreement as Draco displayed a smug smile.

"And why's that, Pansy? Isn't he just _barely_ passing this course?" questioned Hermione.

"If you ask me, Hermione should be the leader," Neville piped up.

"Yes, well said! She is acing this class and grew up with Muggle parents, so she'll know more than, well, most of us," Ron suggested, glancing at Harry.

The group argued for a bit before they finally decided to draw numbers.

"Number 2," revealed Professor Snape as being the leader. Draco swore and Hermione frowned.

"Who's the leader then?" Pansy demanded after no one said anything.

"Ummm..I guess that it's me," said Harry, looking uncomfortable.

"Figures! Leave it to the famous Potter to be the leader of _our_ team!" spat Draco.

"Hey! He won fair and square. Don't be a sore loser, Malfoy," Ron shot back.

"Shut your face—"

"Will you two shut up so we can get started already? We've wasted enough time," complained Hermione as she looked around the room and saw that two of the teams were gone.

Draco glared at Hermione then sat back in his chair muttering something about a know-it-all. Professor Snape had been enjoying the whole ordeal, but he decided it was time to move on and stood again.

"Now that that's decided, you need to choose a level. There are three levels, but Professor Burbage will only allow you to pick from the first two - seeing how you're all inexperienced in how this works. You can either be Greenhorns or Adventurers. As a Greenhorn, you are an ordinary member of the wagon train. The decisions you make only affect you and your party. As an Adventurer, you serve as the train's captain. Decisions you make will affect the _entire_ train. Bonus points, however, will be awarded if you reach your destination as captain. If morale falls, you will be demoted to a Greenhorn. The key difference between the two is _time_. As a Greenhorn, you have no control over how long you travel or which roads to take. As an Adventurer, you could either add or subtract time from your journey. So, Mr. Potter, which will it be?"

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, out of habit, and then said, "I'd like to discuss it with the group first."

Snape simply folded his arms across his chest, waiting for another argument to start.

"It's obvious that we should be Adventurers, that way, even if we screw up with the directions or something, we're still in the game! Besides, of all goes well, we could get bonus points in the end," said Hermione.

"True," said the rest of the Gryffindors in agreement.

Pansy looked at Draco, who appeared to be thinking.

"Are you good with maps, _Granger_?" Draco asked, mockingly. "Otherwise, I think we'd be better off letting that hideous cat of yours choose the paths."

"I think we'll manage just fine, _Malfoy_," Hermione shot back, "and I won't be the only one reading the map, _remember_?"

Draco hesitated with a sneer before throwing his hands in front of him and saying, "Fine then! Just don't blame me for anything later."

After going through many more group decisions (occupation, departure date, departure city, destination, skills), the team decided to let Harry be a pharmacist in order to have medical and botany skills, leave on April 1, 1855, set out from Independence, Missouri, travel to Oregon City, Oregon, and have the extra skills of riverwork, carpentry, and tracking.

"Now, let's get the lot of you into this game and let the _real_ fun begin," Professor Snape said with a smirk before saying a large and complicated spell none of the students had ever heard before.

Everything turned bright green before Harry's eyes, and he felt as though he was swimming through one of Snape's potions. Suddenly, he felt the sun shinning down on him, a cool wind blowing through his hair, and the ground covered with something soft before he opened his eyes.

"Ummm..Harry? I think Snape made a terrible mistake!"


	2. The Fun Begins

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer. Please review when you're finished to encourage prompt updates. Enjoy!

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Chapter 2 –The Fun Begins

"What was that, Ron?" Harry asked, standing to look around him. He was behind a weathered, red barn surrounded by bails upon bails of hay..or maybe straw..Harry didn't know for sure.

"Honestly, Ron! Why don't you get out more?" asked Hermione, who was behind Ron brushing whatever-it-was off her clothes.

"But..This can't be right, can it? Look at this place!"

"It's called a barn, Ron. Welcome to America. This is Independence, Missouri, as of 1855, _remember_?"

Suddenly, everyone jumped when a loud beeping came from Harry's pocket.

Harry immediately reached in and revealed an old little book. When he opened it, the beeping stopped but was replaced by Professor Snape's silky voice.

"Is the entire group present for your first meeting?"

"Yes—Wait! Where's Draco and Pansy?!" Harry yelled, looking around him.

"And Neville?!" shouted Hermione, frantically looking around the bails.

"You're not even a minute into this and you've already lost half your team, _Potter_," reported Snape. "When you have found them, I will return."

There was a clicking noise to indicate Snape had turned off whatever was sending his voice to the book.

"Man, are we in deep now! How could we have lost three people already? Weren't they here a bloody second ago?" asked Ron.

"They can't be far off. We'll look for them together so that no one else goes missing," suggested Hermione, already walking away.

"Hold on! Shouldn't someone stay here just in case some or all of them come back?" Harry asked.

"Well..I guess so. We'll be back soon!" called Hermione, pulling Ron along.

Harry watched his two best friends until they disappeared around the side of the barn. He then sat down on a near-by bail and decided to look through the old book. From the outside, it looked like it was older than the hills and ready to fall apart at any given moment. It had a thin leather cover that was worn and scratched in many areas. When opened, though, it looked brand new with crisp white pages and dark black ink. Harry turned to the table of contents and found that the book included a guide, map, journal, and itinerary. Harry also found a sharpened piece of lead attached to the back cover and realized that's what he would use to write with.

"_Well, I might as well do something while I wait_," thought Harry, turning to the journal section of the small book. There were only six pages, but Harry figured there was some magic involved that would allow him more space.

Before he could even begin to write, sentences appeared in a very fancy script reading, "The Travel Journal of Harry Potter, an adventurer, formerly a pharmacist, who, in April, 1855 set out from Independence, Missouri, to start a new life by settling in Oregon City, OR."

Harry chuckled grimly as he remembered a similar event involving a self-writing journal before he positioned the lead to write.

"_Day 1 – April 1st. Draco, Pansy, and Neville are missing, but I'm guessing that Hermione and Ron will hunt them down sooner or later. I am anxious to get supplies and get this journey started_.."

Harry stopped and put the book in his pocket when he heard voices approaching. He wasn't sure if he should hide or call out, so he decided to sneak around the bails until he found out who was there.

"She said they'd be 'round here somewhere," said an elderly gentleman who sounded a bit angry.

"Calm down, Henry! Charity wouldn't lie to us. Maybe they're just not here yet," suggested an elderly woman.

"_Charity?_" thought Harry. "_Could they mean Professor Burbage?_"

"Well, they had better get here soon if they are wantin' to leave before the hot months get 'ere," the man commented.

Harry decided the elderly couple was obviously were here to help the team, so he called out, "Is someone there?"

Harry moved out into a more open area and looked to where the voices were coming from.

"Here they are at last!" cried the woman, walking as fast as she could up to Harry and offering her hand. "I'm Mary Ann Mills and this is my husband, Henry Mills. Charity asked us to help your group before your long journey to Oregon."

"Some help would be great, but I'm afraid I've lost three members of my group and the other two are off searching for them," said Harry as his cheeks turned red.

"Don't you worry yourself, dear boy! You children stick out like sore thumbs in this little town. When they've been found, the first thing we're going to do is get all of you a change of clothes!"

Harry realized that he was still in his Hogwarts uniform and knew she was right.

"Right you are, Madam. We'll see to that first before making any purchases. We probably look like fancy circus performers, huh?"

Mrs. Mills laughed and said, "I don't know about that, but hearing that funny accent of yours sure puts in the 'fancy'. Follow me and Henry will stay here in case your friends come back."

Henry didn't look too happy about staying, but he decided to make himself comfortable anyway. Mary Ann guided Harry around the barn and towards a cozy-looking cottage.

"Are you hungry?" Mary Ann asked, gesturing to a basket of piping-hot blueberry muffins and a pitcher of milk. "I hope you and your friends like them so they don't go to waste."

"Oh, I'm sure they're delicious! I am a bit hungry, but I'd like to wait until the others get here, if you don't mind," Harry said, looking around the Mills' kitchen.

"That's fine, dear. Make yourself comfortable while I get a few things for you."

Harry sat down on one of the wooden kitchen chairs and decided to look through his book again until she returned. He had just started looking through the chapter on diseases when Mrs. Mills appeared in the doorway.

"Here are the clothes and a bag to put all of your fancy dressin's in," Mrs. Mills said, arms full.

She set them down on the kitchen table then produced a piece of parchment from her pocket, saying, "This is a list of things you'll need and where to find them. You can always add to this list, but don't leave without havin' everythin' on this list. Understand?"

Harry nodded slowly as he took the list from her, folded it, and put it into his book.

"We won't forget anything, Mrs. Mills."

Mary Ann was about to say something when the front door swung open and Henry called out, "The rest of 'em are here!"

Harry about knocked his chair over in his rush to get to the door. Neville and Ron were first to enter while talking excitedly about something, Draco and Pansy were next and muttering under their breaths, and Hermione and Henry stepped inside not looking anywhere near enthused.

"I'm glad to see all of you again!" Harry said, unable to hide his relief. "Before anything else happens, we need to—"

Before Harry could finish, the little book began to beep again.

"I see everyone is present _this_ time," Professor Snape said as soon as Harry opened the book. "The Mills are here to make sure you leave with the right supplies. Remember that the clock is ticking, so try not to doddle as you make your purchases. Your spending money is located in the front pocket of this book. Mr. Potter, it is _your_ responsibility to make some sort of budget, because you may need money later on for more supplies or toll fees. I'll be checking back in on all of you in a few days..Oh, and don't forget to keep up with _your_ journal entries, _Mr. Potter_."

"So how much do we have?" Draco asked Harry.

Harry opened the front pocket and pulled out a large amount of bills. As Harry counted, Mary Ann herded them into the kitchen to have breakfast. Everyone watched Harry count the bills, and then he would pause to take a bite of his muffin or a drink from his cup as their anticipation built with each passing second.

"One thousand, seven hundred fifty pounds..err..dollars," reported Harry after carefully placing the money back in the book and into his pocket.

Ron almost choked on his milk when he heard the amount.

"Bloody hell, that's bound to be a lot of money, right? Think of everything we could buy!"

"I have an idea," suggested Pansy, thinking quickly, "Why don't we split it among the six of us and then buy what _we_ want? Everything will be fair then."

"Not going to happen," said Harry instantly.

"Yeah, it would be absolutely idiotic for us to do that without knowing how long we're going to be traveling. We need emergency money anyway - in case someone gets hurt and we need medicine or something. Ever think of that?" Hermione pressed.

"Well then I'll have MY own money to pay for MY medication!" Pansy said, raising her voice.

"What if you get sick right before we get to Oregon, and you've spent all YOUR money? How is it fair if one of us has to spend OUR share to save your sorry—"

"Hermione! Pansy! I'm going to make this the fairest team there is, but you, Pansy, need to stop thinking about how things will just benefit you. We're in this together, and I'm not going to fail just so everyone can have their way. Understand?" Harry asked.

Pansy sighed angrily as she rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath to Draco.

"And, Hermione, I know you want to pass this test with flying colors, but we're all inexperienced when it comes to this, and we all need to TRY to get along if we're going to be spending the next few months together. Can you try to be a little more cooperative? Pansy? Everyone?"

Before anything else could happen, Mrs. Mills suggested changing their clothes so they could leave. The boys changed in the living room while the girls changed in the adjoining bedroom.

"Look at me! I'm Farmer Ron!" Ron said with a Southern accent. He had put on faded blue overalls, a green and blue flannel shirt, and a straw hat. Harry and Neville also laughed at their attire, which consisted of brown pants (wool by the feel of them), flannel shirts, and straw hats. Draco didn't look too happy to be also be wearing overalls and a flannel shirt. He apparently didn't like the hat, because he shoved it in the bag with his uniform.

As the boys were lacing up their boots, they heard the bedroom door open and looked up. Hermione emerged wearing a pale blue skirt and an off-white blouse. Pansy followed wearing a dark gray skirt and mint green blouse.

"Don't you girls just look as cute as a button!" complimented Mary Ann.

"At least I'm wearing a familiar color combination," muttered Pansy as they headed out the door.

"The shops are all up that way," said Mrs. Mills, pointing. "When you're finished getting all your supplies, go to the big white building at the North end of town, and tell the man there which wagon train you want to join and how big of a wagon you have. Have fun, kids, and be careful!"

A chorus of "Thanks for everything!" and "Goodbye!" came from most of the Hogwarts students as they waved goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Mills.

They made their way to a general store and purchased everything on Mrs. Mills' list then stopped at a couple other shops to see what else they could buy.

After much deliberation, they decided to purchase a large farm wagon over the small and Conestoga wagons. After getting some help from the merchants to help them carry all of their things to the North end of town, Harry took it upon himself to decide on the wagon train while the others loaded the wagon.

"There are three trains leaving today. The first train has 15 wagons and 45 people, the second has 31 wagons and 113 people, and the third has 39 wagons and 146 people."

"We'll go with the second train," said Harry after a couple seconds. He was told where the train would be located and had to write down the names of everyone in his wagon party before he could go.

"We're leaving in 30 minutes!" Harry shouted as he neared the wagon.

"The nice old man from the stables just left to get our last five oxen. We're not leaving with _only_ five oxen, Harry!" Hermione yelled back from inside the wagon.

"I don't know why we bought 10; we don't even know how to drive them!" Ron commented as he tossed the last few items into the wagon.

They waited impatiently as their leaving time grew dangerously near. Just when they thought they'd be stuck with only five oxen, the old man from the stables emerged with the remaining oxen.

"Do you know how to drive them?" asked the old man before they took off.

"No, Sir, but if you could give us a 30-second lesson, we'd greatly appreciate it!" yelled Ron from the front of the wagon.

After getting the basics down, Harry and his team headed off to the end of their wagon train with excitement and hope building with every second. They were officially starting their journey on The Oregon Trail.


	3. April 1855

The disclaimer is in chapter 1 and will obviously be pertaining to the entire story.

Thank you for the kind reviews =) I look forward to continuing this story for you.

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Chapter 3 – April 1855

"Harry and wagon mates, thank you for meetin' with me," greeted a man named Mr. Tillman. "I called y'all here to tell Harry, that by a unanimous vote, he's been elected captain of the wagon train!"

"Wow! Thanks, that's great!" said Harry, unable to stop smiling as people of the wagon train clapped and cheered for him.

"As captain, you'll be leadin' the train and makin' all the decisions. Do you accept this position and swear to tend to the well-bein' of this wagon train?"

"Yes, Mr. Tillman. I most certainly will make all decisions based upon the well-being of the train."

They were only a few days into the journey, and the captain position was finally decided upon after having everyone vote. In the end, it was down to Harry and a man named Crazy Bill.

The first thing Harry did as captain was change their slow travel pace.

"I've noticed we've only been traveling eight hours a day – or until sun set. I think we'd get to our destination faster if we traveled 10 hours a day," Harry said, glancing at Hermione who nodded for him to go on. "This means we'll travel into the evening, but only by a little bit. I'll personally make sure we're allowing enough time for rest. Now, does anyone have questions before we go?"

"Yeah! How soon can we get a goin' again?" hollered Mr. O'Daniels with a smile. The crowd laughed and some whistled.

"How about now? Everyone, back to your wagons!" shouted Harry with a fist in the air.

On the way back to their wagon, Draco said rather loudly to Pansy, "How was the vote _unanimous_? The results had to be rigged! I know _I_ didn't vote for stupid Potter. Did you?"

"Of course not!" Pansy said with a look of disgust. "I was thinking the same thing! Crazy Bill seemed like a perfectly decent and honest bloke."

Hermione took a deep breath before saying to her fellow Gryffindors, "Why don't all of you run ahead and finish packing up the wagon while I have a word?"

Harry, Ron, and Neville agreed and took off to the wagon. Hermione then spun around and flashed a huge smile at Draco and Pansy as they approached.

"What are _you_ so happy about, Granger?" sneered Draco.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Hermione started. "I couldn't help but notice how thrilled you both were to hear the news about Harry being captain."

"It's completely false! Why would all these people vote for _him_? They don't even know him! Besides, we're probably the youngest in the train," Pansy said.

"Well, Harry was destined to win because he chose to be an Adventurer, _remember_? It wasn't a shock to me at all. Actually, I was expecting it to happen sooner. And, besides, who in their right mind would want someone with 'crazy' in front of their name making decisions for the good of the wagon train?"

Pansy looked a bit bewildered and then seemed to come to some sort of understanding. "Crazy Bill seemed perfectly harmless! And they didn't have to make such a big deal about Potter winning and everything."

"It _is_ a big deal though, Pansy, because he's in charge of the _entire_ train! Harry's got a lot of pressure on him to make this work, so don't start a fight just because you're jealous," Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"And you're not jealous, _Granger_?" Draco quizzed, stepping towards her. "You didn't exactly seem delighted to see everyone cheering for Potter either. I'll wager you voted for Crazy Bill too!"

"Stop it, Malfoy! Your little mind games won't work on me."

"I beg to differ-" Draco was cut short by the sound of wagons moving around them.

"Hurry!" yelled Hermione over her shoulder as they sprinted for their wagon.

* * *

The Hogwarts students were eating a supper of crunchy vegetable stew and brunt bread around the campfire when a familiar beeping noise came from Harry's pocket.

"Enjoying your supper?" asked a bored-sounding Snape.

"Hardly!" Draco said, spitting out yet another raw potato. "Longbottom is NEVER in charge of cooking again!"

"And this stew is _tasteless_! Didn't we purchase a whole bag of salt for a reason?" asked Pansy as she dumped the contents of her bowl into the grass.

Neville's cheeks flushed crimson as he picked away at charred parts of his bread.

"I don't think it was bad for a first go at it," said Harry, smiling reassuringly towards Neville. "I don't know about you, but I've never cooked anything over a campfire before."

"Well, it was a bloody uneatable disaster!" Pansy said, giving up on her charcoaled bread as she tossed it back into the basket.

"I don't understand why you're throwing such a fit when you hardly eat anyway," Hermione said as she glared at Pansy. "Besides, Neville will have plenty of time to learn how to cook properly over a fire – _we all will_."

There was an uneasy silence as the students thought about how realistic the game seemed and long it would be before they reached their destination.

"These nights around the fire would be much better if we had some marshmallows!" Ron said. "Any chance you can get us some, Professor?" Neville and Harry chuckled while Hermione smirked. Marshmallows would be nice.

"A riot as always, Mr. Weasley," Snape replied. "What has been accomplished in the past few days?"

"Harry was elected captain, and we crossed the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers," Hermione said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it was kind of fun crossing on the ice. Too bad we couldn't find some sticks and pucks to knock around," Ron commented, winking at Harry and Neville.

"Oh, congratulations, Mr. Potter. I'm sure the competition was _fierce_ for the captain position - seeing how Crazy Bill _is_ the local favorite," Snape said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Where are you now?"

"We're near Ely's Ford. Some people already need more supplies, so we need to stop," Harry answered.

"And how are _your_ supplies, Mr. Potter?"

Harry fumbled for an answer as he leafed through his journal records.

"We're fine for now, Professor. We'll need more later, of course, but we have enough to last well through April," Hermione said.

"That sounds promising. Have you made friends with anyone in the wagon train?"

"Ron and I have been playing cards with Mr. Tillman," Neville said.

"I see. Remember that trading is sometimes better than money on the trail, so making friends is a benefit. I am guessing that Mr. Malfoy has already made a friend or two. Am I correct?" Snape asked hopefully.

"Of course, Professor Snape. Some people on our team haven't even tried to make new friends," Draco said while looking at Hermione. "I think having people in the train trust you is a _major_ benefit."

"Well, at least I'm not leading people on with lies and empty promises! You're just using them for your own gain!" Hermione yelled angrily.

"It's all part of the _game_," Draco whispered with a naughty smile.

"At least _someone_ on this team is on top of things," Snape replied.

"Oh, leave it to _him_ to do just that!" Hermione spat as she got up and left the campfire.

"I'll check back in May," Snape said with a smile in his voice. "And, Mr. Potter? At least _try_ to humor me with your half-hearted attempts at the journal entries. I'm growing weary of the three-word sentences."

* * *

"Severus?"

"Yes, Charity?"

"I was just wondering when you think you're going to execute Obstacle A?"

"Soon. I want them to settle in a bit more first.."

"Right, then. Just let me know when you're ready. I tried it on my own team a few moments ago, and two members of my group 'died' and are back in the classroom already!"

"How interesting," Snape said with a smirk.

* * *

"Harry? Lynnette's here to see Malfoy _again_," Ron said as he rolled his eyes.

They were midway through April and Draco had come down with a bad cold. They were resting at the hundred-mile marker on the trail, and Hermione was intent on making sure Draco was drinking plenty of fluids when he wasn't sleeping.

"He's not dying if I can prevent it," Harry heard her say one night while brewing more tea for Draco.

Harry pulled out his journal and began to write just before Lynnette had come to visit Draco for the fourth time that day.

"_April 20th – Ron scared us all half to death a couple nights ago by walking up to the campfire with his head down and looking quite sad. When we asked what was wrong, he said, 'He died.' We all instantly ran to the wagon thinking 'he' meant Malfoy, but he was playing cards with Lynnette – a petite blond girl who's part of the wagon train. When we went back to question Ron, he revealed that one of our chickens, Fred, had died. Hermione was quick to inform him that chickens are female and that she'd kill him if he ever scared us like that again. Today we reached Garden Grove Waystation and we're going to rest for a couple days due to the rain_."

"Harry! Pansy's sick now!" Neville interrupted as he climbed hurriedly out of the wagon.

"That's what she gets for hanging around Malfoy all the time! Stupid cow. Lynnette is next if she doesn't watch herself." Harry then advised Lynnette to go back to her wagon because Malfoy appeared to be contagious.

"But, Draco seems to be recoverin' well.." Lynnette pleaded as Harry tried to usher her away. "He said it's because of my touch that he's startin' to feel better.."

Harry and Neville exchanged eyebrow-raised glances.

"I'm _sure_ he did, Lynnette, but Pansy is sick now too and I'm sure your parents don't want you getting sick next," Harry cautioned. "It's best to let him rest _alone_ for a few days, alright?"

Lynnette nodded sadly and said, "Of course, Captain. I didn't mean any harm. I'm just worried about him and our plans--" She was interrupted by a throaty cough that made her eyes water and her entire body shake.

When she saw the fear on the boys' faces, Lynnette quickly said, "I've had this terrible cough all my life! Weak lungs from birth is what the doctors say. If you'll excuse me, it must be time to take my throat elixir."

When she was out of earshot, Neville asked, "Do you think she's already sick, Harry?"

"Maybe just lovesick," Harry answered with a frown.

* * *

The last day of April was extremely foggy, but Harry was determined to make it to the river. They had barely traveled over the past week due to an outbreak of the measles among parts of the wagon train. Draco was feeling better and spending most of his free time with Lynnette "since Pansy's not feeling well and all."

Hermione was content with nursing Pansy back to health, even though Pansy insisted that she was fine on her own. Ron and Neville liked playing cards with Mr. Tillman and his son, Nicholas, whenever they had a free moment. Harry, on the other hand, was tired and stressed.

When he saw Middle Nodaway River rising in the distance, he nearly cried out in joy. Being the captain was wearing on him, and he hadn't slept well at all since they left Independence.

Once they reached the river, Hermione climbed out of the wagon and walked up to where Harry was sitting. "Pansy's sleeping. It was all I could do to get her to--Harry? Are you all right?"

"I don't know, Hermione. I don't know if I can do this anymore," Harry answered, looking across the river.

"You're not giving up, are you? We've only just begun this journey!"

"Just leave me alone if you're going to yell at me!" Harry said crossly as he stood and walked away.

"What's going on now?" Pansy asked drowsily when Hermione returned.

"We've got a _big_ problem brewing," said Hermione, busying herself buy checking supplies. "I think we need to have a team meeting before we go any further."


	4. May 1855

The disclaimer in chapter 1.

Thanks for the reviews, and keep them coming! =)

* * *

Chapter 4 – May 1855

Harry was in a good mood for the first time in a long while. After his meltdown (as Pansy called it) at the Middle Nodaway River, Hermione got the team together to have a serious meeting. After a while, Harry finally admitted that he was stressed, because he felt secluded in his decision-making and didn't want to let the team and the wagon train down.

Afterwards, they agreed to start having a team meeting at least once a week to discuss problems and navigation. Everyone thought the first month would be the hardest, and the adventure would only get easier..

But they were about to find out this wasn't the case while traveling The Oregon Trail.

* * *

On May 2nd, one of the back wagon wheels hit a large rock and cracked. Luckily, it wasn't anything major and they were able to repair it with help from the guidebook. The students just hoped it wouldn't happen again for a while since it took a good 4 hours to fix it.

"May 3--_We finally arrived in Cold Springs today. Nicholas Tillman told me about a 'shortcut' he had heard about from people from another wagon train at the last stop, but it turned out to be false. Surprisingly, we weren't too far off the main road when we noticed the 'shortcut' was leading us in the wrong direction_," Harry wrote in the journal.

"Harry, have you seen Malfoy? Everyone is finished eating and he hasn't even shown up yet," Hermione complained while stirring the remaining soup over the fire.

"Oh, I think he said something about spending the evening with Lynnette, but I thought he meant _after_ supper was finished," Harry replied, not appearing to care.

"WHAT?" Hermione yelled, making Harry drop the journal. "Why didn't he tell me? He _knew_ it was my turn to make supper tonight! Now food's going to be wasted, and–"

"Why are you yelling at me? Go hunt Malfoy down if you want to yell at someone!" Harry said, picking up the journal and looking cross.

"I will!" Hermione picked up her skirt and jogged to the wagon Lynnette and her grandmother Darlene were using. Lynnette's parents had traveled to Oregon over four years ago. Because of Lynnette's weak health, they left their only child with her grandparents, because they wanted to wait until she was a little older to handle the conditions on the trail. Sadly, her grandfather died a couple months before the trip, so Lynnette and Darlene went alone.

"Hi there, Hermettie!" greeted Darlene. "Are ya lookin' for Lynnie and Drake?"

"It's Her-mi-on-ie and _yes_," she replied with irritation.

"I'm sorry, honey! It's just with your name bein' so uncommon that I forget it easy."

"Imagine that," Hermione muttered. "So where are they?"

"Oh! Lynnie said Drake found a nice spot on that there hill where they could eat and do some talkin'. I suspect they'll be back soon if ya'll want to wait."

"No, thanks. I'll just catch-up with them later."

"Drake is such a fine young man," Darlene mused. "I suppose I don't know much about him other than what Lynnie tells me – and she talks about him all the time! Does he come from a nice family?"

Hermione couldn't help but let out a sarcastic laugh. "_Nice_ isn't the word I would use, Madam. Truthfully, I think Lynnette will be better off without him. Come on, it's not like they're ever going to see each other again once this trip's over!"

Darlene looked shocked. "You mean Drake's intentions aren't to court Lynnie and marry her in California?"

It was Hermione's turn to be shocked.

"Did Lynnette tell you that?"

"No, but they fancy each other so much, and this is a long road to travel, so I just assumed.."

"Well, I'm afraid you're mistaken, Madam. If you'll excuse me, I'd best be going," Hermione said as she hurried away.

"_I knew he was taking this too far! He's really going to hurt this girl if he doesn't end it now_!" she thought angrily as she started to make her way up the nearby hill.

It was long after sunset, but the sky with alight with millions of stars and the moon was nearly full. A chilly breeze danced upon the overgrown grass and rusted the leaves on the surrounding trees. Suddenly, Hermione heard a girl's giggle coming from a little higher up. She crept slowly to make sure it was indeed Draco and Lynnette before interrupting.

"I had no idea that you knew so much about the stars!" said a light and musical female voice.

"It's funny I even remember all this now since I learned about it years ago..Look, there's Orion's Belt!"

"Where, Draco?"

"See that line of stars there? Wait, put your head closer to mine so you can see me point to them."

"Like _this_?" Lynnette asked, leaning very close to Draco's face, batting her eyelashes innocently.

"A little closer..Perfect! Now, watch my finger." Draco pointed. "Watch as I outline," he said, moving his finger slowly.

"You're teachin' me so much! I _love_ being your student."

"A telescope would be even better, but.." Draco stopped when he realized Lynnette's mouth was mere inches from his. He couldn't help himself as he moved his face closer to hers.

Hermione inhaled sharply and instinctively reached into her pocket. She cursed silently when she realized she didn't have her wand, grabbed the closest object to her, and threw with surprising aim.

* * *

"Morning, Mione. You look awful! Are you feeling alright?" Harry asked, walking over to sit beside her.

Hermione was picking at her uneaten breakfast and looking deep in thought.

"I couldn't sleep," she said simply.

"Why? Do you feel like you're coming down with something?"

"Not exactly.."

"Hermione, if you're feeling ill, I need to know right now!" Harry demanded, grabbing her shoulders so she would face him.

"I'm not ill! Let go of me!" Hermione snapped, throwing down her plate and standing.

"Then what is it? Maybe I can help," Harry said more calmly, trying to get her to stay.

"I don't want to talk about it," Hermione said, grabbing her cup of tea and walking away.

"What's going on with Hermione?" Harry asked Neville when he emerged from his tent.

"I'm not sure. She's been acting strangely since last night," Neville replied, grabbing a plate to get some fried eggs.

"Where's Draco," Pansy interrupted in a raspy voice as she appeared slowly from the wagon.

"Pansy! What are you doing up? I told you to stay in the wagon until your tea was ready," Harry said.

"I need to see Draco," Pansy said, still trying to get herself out of the wagon.

"Wait!" Harry said, thinking quickly. "If I find Malfoy and bring him here, will you stay in the wagon?"

Pansy looked like she was having trouble deciding, then she shook her head and asked, "Has he been asking about me lately? I haven't talked to him in days.."

Harry actually felt a little bad for Pansy. Malfoy was her only friend there, and he hadn't even taken two seconds to check on her since her cold had gotten worse. Hermione and Pansy clearly disliked one another, but they had starting acting more tolerable in the last few days.

Harry's silence was enough for Pansy to have her answer. She shook her head again and disappeared into the wagon.

"I don't understand, Harry. I thought Draco liked Pansy," Neville said.

"Malfoy only likes people when it's convenient for him," Harry replied.

* * *

Near Council Bluffs, there was a wagon train meeting because some people wanted to discuss the current circumstances. Most were tired and wanted a break. Harry promised them that once they reached Florence, they'd have a nice break. Many seemed happy with that decision since their destination was just a day away.

The train was probably three hours away from their resting point when they reached the Kanesville Crossing of the Missouri River. The conditions weren't the greatest – high winds and heavy rain – but everyone was determined to cross the river and finish the day in Florence. Most were paying the $10 fee to take the ferry for more safety (including Harry's team), but some wanted to save their money by caulking their wagons and floating across.

Harry watched a few wagons float across with some difficulty before it was finally his team's turn for the ferry. They were about a fourth of the way across the river when they suddenly heard screams coming from the shore.

"What the bloody hell are they going on about?" Ron asked as he looked to the shore. Then he saw what was going on. A wagon that had been caulked to float across the river was on its side in the middle of the river and sinking fast as the waves crashed over it.

"Harry! A wagon's tipped over!" Ron yelled as he climbed out of the wagon and onto the ferry deck for a better look. Harry and the rest of the team were hot on his trail to see for themselves what was going on.

"Do you see anyone in the water?" Harry yelled over the wind and rain as the team clung to the side of the ferry.

"Yes! There's someone holding onto a barrel over there!" Neville yelled, pointing.

They were squinting to see who the person was when Draco suddenly yelled, "No!" and jumped overboard.


	5. May Continued

Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

Thank you for the wonderful reviews! Keep them coming =)

* * *

Chapter 5 – May Continued

Everyone stared in shocked when Draco dove off the side of the ferry into the cold and tremendously choppy water.

"What is that good-for-nothing idiot doing?!" Hermione yelled suddenly, making the team turn and look at her.

"He's insane! He's bloody insane! He's a complete and total moron!" Hermione shouted as she found rope from inside their wagon and secured it to the ferry.

They watched as Hermione then kicked off her shoes, tossed off her hat, and threw the rest of the rope off the side of the ferry. "Pull me back when I wave my arm side to side like this," Hermione instructed as she demonstrated the motion quickly. Before anyone could object, she jumped over the side and dropped into the dark water.

After a second or two, Ron asked absently, "Why did Malfoy jump?"

"Because that's Lynnette's grandmother holding the barrel," Harry replied with concern etching his face. "Chances are that Lynnette's still in the wagon. I'm not sure why they didn't use the ferry."

They watched in horror as the overturned wagon continued to sink. Draco was having a hard time swimming since the wind and rain were increasing in intensity. They watched as his blond head bobbed above and below the surface as he fiercely tried to swim. Hermione was not too far behind him as she swam as fast as she could while still having a hold of the rope.

Hermione yelled to Draco to wait for her, but he continued to swim forward. When he reached Darlene, he gave her a good push in Hermione's direction and shouted something to her before swimming towards the wagon.

"Stop!" Hermione screamed, but once Draco reached the wagon, he took a breath and went under the water. She swam to Darlene and told her to hold the rope with her free hand.

"Where's Lynnie? Did you find her?" Darlene asked, frantically searching Hermione's eyes for answers.

"I don't know where your granddaughter is, but Draco is looking for her now," Hermione said loudly through the rain.

"This is all my fault! Lynnie thought we should take the ferry, but I didn't want to spend-"

"It's not your fault! Save your strength. I'm sure wagons overturn all the time," Hermione tried to reassure Darlene as she tried to scan the water.

The wind was getting stronger, and waves were continuously crashing over Hermione's head. She was gasping for breath when her hand finally reached Darlene's barrel and she pulled herself upward.

Minutes passed and Hermione wasn't sure what to do. Darlene was getting hysterical, the wagon was now completely underwater, Draco was nowhere to be seen, and she wasn't sure how much more she could take of struggling to stay above the surface.

Hermione felt a slight tug on the rope and turned to see her team, rope in hand, ready to pull her back.

"_Don't tempt me_!" Hermione thought, turning back around to scan the water for Draco. The weather was getting worse and Hermione's lungs were burning from her rapid breathing and holding her breath for long periods of time. The thought of leaving Draco there and not having to deal with him for the rest of the game was extremely appealing, but she knew that she'd never hear the end of it later if she didn't at least try.

"Darlene, I want you to hold this rope and not let go, even if that means losing your barrel, okay? I'm going to swim out to where the wagon sank," Hermione said, letting go of the rope before Darlene could protest. She swam out a little way and then went underwater to see if she was near the wagon. After three failed efforts, Hermione swam out a bit further and was preparing herself to go underwater again when she felt something grab her bare foot.

"Help me!" Draco gasped when he surfaced.

Hermione was so shocked to see Draco alive that she didn't respond.

"COME ON!" Draco yelled, eyes blazing and water streaming down his face.

Hermione finally nodded and prepared to take a deep breath.

"She's one of us! We have to save her!" Draco pleaded, guiding Hermione by the wrist out a few feet.

Hermione wasn't sure that she heard him correctly as they each took a deep breath. Draco guided her down to where the wagon had sunk. Hermione could barely see, but she could make out Draco's bright blond head in front of her as he entered the covered wagon. She followed and saw Draco suddenly trying to lift something heavy. Hermione swam beside him and they lifted together to reveal an unconscious Lynnette.

* * *

"It's time to leave," Hermione said lightly as she approached Draco.

Lynnette had been buried five days earlier, and Draco had barely left her grave. When the wagon tipped over, Darlene was thrown into the water while Lynnette was not so lucky. She was knocked unconscious when a table and some other large objects fell onto her. She had drowned before Draco and Hermione could reach her.

"So it is," Draco replied emotionlessly.

-Beep!Beep!Beep!-

"Hello, Professor," Harry greeted sadly, opening the worn book.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. I see that everyone's in high spirits this morning," Professor Snape joked.

"No one's in the mood, Professor," Hermione warned as she and Draco joined their team.

"Have any of you eaten today? It looks as though the whole lot of you could drop in an instant."

"All of us had a light brunch except.." Ron started.

"Except _who_?"

"Who do you think? Can't you see anything from the screen right in front of your face?" Hermione snapped.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for your foolish and unneeded outbursts, _Miss Granger_. Mr. Malfoy, I'd like to have a word with _you_ later."

Draco stood silent in response.

"How are your supplies?"

"We're fine for now. We'll probably need more food in a week or two, though," Harry said, looking through his records.

"What are your portion sizes?"

"Filling; we need all the energy we can get."

"Well, maybe you wouldn't be running so low on food if everyone ate a bit less."

"I'm _not_ cutting portions," Harry said through clenched teeth. "We're all almost too tired to make it through the days as it is."

"Suit yourself, _Potter_. It was merely a helpful suggestion. Where is your next destination?"

"We're a few days away from Loup River."

"Well, do be careful. I'd hate to see _your_ wagon tip."

With a swift motion, Draco bolted upright, grabbed the book from Harry, threw it on the ground, and began stomping it into the dirt.

"Malfoy! What the hell are you doing?! Stop!" Harry shouted. Draco was shaking with anger and apparently was too distracted to hear Harry or see the looks on his team's faces when he began to tear the pages out.

Once the book was almost completely destroyed, Draco picked up the pieces and threw them into the nearby campfire.

"We're better off," Draco said as his labored breathing calmed a bit.

"_Better_ _off_?!" Harry sputtered. "How's that, Malfoy? Now we have _no_ map, _no_ list of cures for diseases, _no_ records, _no_ _nothing_! What the bloody hell were you thinking?!"

"We might as well kill ourselves now! We'll never make it without that book," Ron said angrily while glaring at Draco.

"Ron, you're not helping," Hermione scolded while gathering up the rest of their things.

"_I'm_ not helping?" Ron yelled at her before wheeling back on Draco. "What about your friend Pansy, _Malfoy_? How can we keep her alive without knowing how to help her? She has a different illness nearly everyday!"

Draco didn't even look at Ron as he crawled into the front of the wagon.

"What a heartless bastard!" Ron proclaimed loudly. "We all know his girlfriend died, but is that an excuse to lose it and potentially kill his only friend left?"

"He's out of sorts right now," Hermione said while putting the fire out with dirt to see if any of the book could be salvaged.

"At least Loup River is off this main road. I guess we can come up with a new game plan once we reach it," Harry said after a long while of cooling down. "This game's not over for us yet."


	6. June 1855

Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

Notes: Although I am honored to be on the favorites' and alerts' lists of so many readers, I am disheartened that I have so few reviews for this story. Please remember to review to encourage future chapters. Thank you and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 6 – June 1855

"What the.." Professor Snape said aloud when he heard yelling and then silence.

"Is there a problem, Severus?" Professor Burbage asked as she walked up behind him.

"I'm not sure. I was just talking with my team when the connection cut out."

"What? That's not possible!"

The professors watched the computer screen as moral dropped and the team's steady course seemed to be spinning in circles.

"Check the journal," Burbage suggested frantically. They watched for a few minutes as days passed by with nothing written down. "This is quite odd. I suspect foul play."

"What are you suggesting? I believe we should let them figure things out for themselves," Snape sneered.

"No, I think it's a bit more serious than that. I'll get you a new guide book to give them," Burbage said, walking hastily to her office.

"Wait a moment. Are you suggesting that _I_ am to go into the game and _hand_ it to them?" asked Snape, astonished.

"Why not? That way you can find out what happened and decide if they should be pulled out," Burbage called over her shoulder as she continued on.

Snape couldn't believe what was happening. He agreed to monitor a team – not go inside the game itself and, of all things, help Potter and his fellow Gryffindors when there was a good chance of watching each of them perish within the next few minutes.

"You should feel privileged, Severus."

Snape whipped his head around to see Professor McGonagall smiling as though she were trying to suppress a laugh.

"Privileged, _how_ exactly? You surely wouldn't find this so humorous if it were _you_ going instead of me," Snape said as he stood and started striding after Professor Burbage.

"I suppose not," McGonagall replied to herself with a smirk.

* * *

"Harry? I'm sorry to wake you since you've only had a few hours of sleep, but.." Ron paused when the wagon stopped abruptly and yelling was heard from behind them.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"We're completely lost, and it sounds as though the people in the train have just figured us out."

"Are you _sure_? Did Hermione tell you that?"

"Erm..No, but Neville and I know we passed those rocks over an hour ago."

"What rocks?"

"The rocks the rest of the wagon train is stopped at."

Harry was now fully awake and moved forward to look out the back of the wagon. Sure enough, there was the wagon train stopped at a rock formation.

"Superb," Harry muttered bitterly. "Why don't you run back there and tell the people yelling that I'll be there in a few minutes to address the current situation?" Just then, a gunshot went off and more yelling was heard.

"Do I have to?" Ron whimpered as he and Harry saw Neville running in circles while some men shot at his feet.

Harry didn't wait to respond. He climbed out the back of the wagon and walked to the front to see Hermione with her face in her hands.

"What's going on?" Harry asked as he climbed up and sat beside her.

"Do you even have to bloody ask!" she cried through her fingers. "It hasn't rained in weeks, we're low on food and water, and we're bloody lost on this bloody trail with no BLOODY MAP!"

"Calm down a moment. No one's blaming you.."

"HA!" Hermione yelled as she uncovered her red, tearstained face. "What do you call the _entire_ wagon train stopping when you didn't order it?"

"A miscommunication," Harry stated, very matter-of-factly.

"Harry, I don't know what to do anymore. We're on the verge of failing!"

"Thanks for having _some_ confidence in me. You're a true friend," Harry shot angrily as he jumped down and made his way to the rocks.

* * *

"Here," Draco said, holding out a cup of tea to Hermione. Harry had called for a meeting that everyone in the wagon train was to attend, but when Draco saw Hermione walking to a shady spot away from the wagons, he decided to follow her.

"Isn't it a little hot for tea for right now?" Hermione asked as she glanced at the cup and looked away. The day's temperature was soaring into the 80s, and it wasn't even Noon yet.

"Well, Stupid-Ass Longbottom left the water jug out in the sun _again_, so I figured warm tea was better than just warm water," Draco replied, urging her to take the cup.

"He's not stupid," Hermione said, glaring up at Draco. "He can sometimes be forgetful, but Neville's not stupid."

Draco rolled his eyes and sighed, but he didn't say anything further.

"Why don't you offer that cup to Pansy? I'm sure she could use some fluids right now," Hermione suggested after a moment.

"I don't care about Pansy," Draco said, glancing over at their wagon.

Hermione frowned. "But, Pansy's your friend. She's been sick for weeks. Aren't you worried about her health?"

"No!" Draco declared, deciding to sit on the shaded grass across from Hermione and placed the tea cup in front of her.

"Did I miss something?"

"I don't want to discuss it," Draco started. "She knows what she did, even though she won't admit it."

"Oh.." Hermione was puzzled, but she didn't feel like prying. After a moment, she decided to grab the cup of tea and try it. The warm aromatic liquid slid down her parched throat, and she felt herself relax slightly.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm not sorry for what I did to the guidebook, but I am bothered that we're lost.."

"Erm..Was that supposed to be an apology?" Hermione asked.

"No, but I know it's partially because of me that we're lost and it's making this game take longer."

"No, it's _completely_ because of you that we're lost! If you want out of this game, why don't you off yourself now and get it over with?"

"I can't fail this exam," Draco declared, looking away.

"Oh," Hermione answered as understanding sunk in.

"Why does this have to seem so real?" Draco asked after a moment.

Hermione was about to answer, but she knew she would be treading on fragile ground, so she remained silent.

Draco continued without looking at Hermione. "I mean, why couldn't Burbage have taken us on an observational trip instead? Or brought in more artifacts or something to quiz us on?"

Hermione watched anger forming on Draco's face as he gripped his tea cup so tightly that she was sure it was going to crack and break apart.

"Can I ask you something?" Hermione asked.

Draco shrugged in reply.

"When we were in the river..Did you say Lynnette was one of _us_?"

"I _don't_ want to talk about it," Draco said, standing to leave.

"It was just a question! I won't press on, but I'm not sure that I understood you correctly that day."

Draco surveyed Hermione for a moment before replying, "You heard me correctly. Lynnette was a witch."

"I can't believe it!" Hermione said, becoming excited. "Do you suppose there are others in our train?"

"I doubt it. Lynnette knew she was different than other people, but she didn't know she was magical."

"Incredible! We could have learned so much from her," Hermione said. Her smile slowly faded as she suddenly realized it was a mistake to have avoided Lynnette. "No wonder you were around her so much. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Lynnette told me not to, and I wanted to respect her wishes," said Draco. "You and the others weren't exactly friendly to her either."

"I know we weren't," Hermione started. "I feel badly for that, but I can't do anything about it now."

"Lynnette wouldn't have wanted your pity anyway," Draco said as he turned and walked to where the wagon train members were gathered.

* * *

Harry thought the meeting went fairly well – even though he was threatened twice with guns and yelled at repeatedly until he promised they would make it to Cedar Bluffs within the next three days. People were angry for obvious reasons, but Harry saw it more as them feeling like they had a leader that didn't care about them anymore. He wanted to change that by catering to their needs and possibly having a weekly meeting to discuss any wagon train problems.

"Are you _mad_?" Hermione whispered angrily to Harry on their way back to the wagon, "There's no way we're going to make it to Cedar Bluffs in _three_ days without some help!"

"What did you want me to say, Hermione? Those men wanted to kill me! I don't know about you, I would rather lie a bit and see what happens within the next few days then have the game ended for me for being blatantly honest."

"Well, I'm telling you right now that I'm no longer guiding this train without a map, or a sign, or anything that will steer us in the right direction. I'd be more than willing to take over Ron or Neville's chores if they take my place."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Harry said as they reached their wagon. "Just let me get some water and we'll be on our way, alright?"

It only took a matter of minutes for the wagon train to catch back up with Harry before they began to move again along the trail. Because of the lack of rain, dust was everywhere and only seemed to be getting worse the further they went. Harry could hardly see the back two oxen that were only a few feet in front of him, and he began to worry that he would only get them even more lost because he wouldn't know what they had already passed.

* * *

That night, Ron sadly announced the passing of George (their last chicken) but was happy to have a supper that was filling and not made with beans and rice – their usual supper.

"We should have killed George days ago!" Draco commented between bites and licked his fingers.

"What?! George was a member of the team, and you should thank him for having such a monstrous appetite for corn feed," Ron replied, pointing his half-eaten chicken leg at him.

"Right, then. Thank you, George, wherever you are, for being the most obese chicken I have ever set my sights on and providing us with a long overdue supper that will not be forgotten," Draco remarked after chewing his last bit of chicken.

"Here, here!" Harry chimed with a smirk, holding up his cup for a toast.

The others couldn't help but laugh and raise their cups to toast the hefty bird George.

* * *

The following day was almost unbearably hot with the temperature at 96 degrees and dust blowing everywhere. After lunch, Harry was shocked to see the dust clouds were becoming more transparent and the wind was picking up.

"I think this is a sign of good luck," Harry said to Hermione as he pointed ahead.

"And I think it's a sign that a storm is coming. Did you look at the sky in the west?" Hermione commented with concern.

"This is good, though! That means it will rain, and we'll all get fresh water and the dust will settle!"

"Not necessarily, but I hope so," she replied.

Within the next couple hours, gray-black clouds completely covered the sky, and everyone was temporarily grateful for the break from the blistering heat. However, the wind continued to pick-up and lightning seemed to be striking every few minutes.

"Harry!" Neville called as he opened the front flap, "Everyone is wondering if we should stop and wait for the storm to pass."

"I figure we're more likely to get struck by lightning sitting in one place for a long amount of time, so we might as well continue on," Harry called back.

More hours passed and Harry had no idea what time of day it was or how long they had been traveling. It was pitch black except for the lightning bolts that made the area seem like daytime, and the crashing thunder was sometimes deafening, but Harry was determined not to stop until Cedar Bluffs was in view.

Suddenly, in the distance, Harry saw something in the center of the trail. Thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, he yelled for Ron.

"What is it, Harry? I'm only two cards away from winning another hand!" Ron called, impatiently, as he poked his head out through the flap.

"Look out into the distance. Do you see anything in the center of the trail?" Harry asked as he moved to the side a bit to give Ron more viewing space.

They waited for the lightning and then Ron yelled, "Yes! Let's see what it is!"

Anticipation grew as the minutes seemed to creep by and, little by little, they were getting closer to whatever was blocking the trail. When Harry was very close, he squinted to see what it could be, but the lightning was failing him as it moved further away. He slowed the oxen down when he thought they were surely within 50 feet, but it looked as though nothing was there.

"No! I know I saw _something_!" Harry yelled as he stopped the wagon and jumped down. He ran up the trail at full speed when it rapidly occurred to him that maybe it was a bear or some other large animal that he saw, and the sounds of the wagon train getting closer may have scared it away.

"Harry? What was it?" Ron asked, running up to Harry with Neville, Hermione, and Draco in tow.

"I don't know! It vanished when the wagon got closer, so I didn't get to see what it was," Harry replied.

"Professor Snape?" Neville asked.

"That's impossible, Neville. If Snape were coming here, he would've shown up days ago," Harry said as he started to make his way back to the wagon, but he stopped when he saw Neville looking toward the forest.

"Honestly, Neville, why would Professor Snape be hiding in the woods?" Hermione asked as she squinted to figure out what he was looking at. "It's probably just an animal or something."

"It is! He has something in his hand!" Neville yelled suddenly and took off running.

"Stop him before he gets hurt!" Hermione cried as she followed Neville. Luckily for her, Neville slipped on some wet gravel and she and Harry were easily able to take hold of him.

"I saw him!" Neville started yelling repeatedly as they helped him up and held onto his arms so he couldn't run away again.

"Neville, it's late and I know you _think_ you saw Professor Snape, but why would he be _here_?" Hermione quizzed.

"Because I had no choice," replied a velvety voice from the darkness.

* * *

After the initial shock of having Snape there, Hermione could have hugged the slimy git when he provided Harry with a new guidebook.

"I don't know what happened to the last one, but don't count on me coming to help you again, _Potter_," Snape warned, angrily.

"It wasn't me, Professor!" Harry defended.

"Yeah, it was all Malfoy's fault!" Ron chimed in.

"And where is Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked, looking around.

"He probably went back to the wagon to check on Pansy," Hermione suggested.

"No, I'm right here," Draco said as he walked out of the shadows.

Snape icily asked, "May I have a word with you privately?"

"Yes, Professor," Draco responded, and Snape ordered the rest of the team to file back to the wagon immediately.

"It was foolish of you to get so involved with that girl," Snape started, his voice was piercing and made Draco flinch, "and I can see her death is _still_ troubling you, so let me put this into perspective. This is a game, Mr. Malfoy. On this trail, many people will get diseases, injuries, and so forth that will result in death, understand?"

Draco nodded but averted his eyes.

"For you to get involved so deeply was moronic, and you know that. As of your performance, I wonder what your father would say.."

Suddenly, Draco's eyes met Snape's and he became ridged with fear.

"Are you going to tell him?" Draco blurted.

"Well, I think I should since it reflects what your future behavior could exhibit.." Snape paused just long enough to watch Draco's expression become frantic and fearful, "but I'll give you the rest of the game to properly redeem yourself."

"Thank you, Professor," Draco said quickly and then ran off to join his team.

"Don't thank me yet," Snape replied quietly.


End file.
